Anyone passing by Rua General Osório, in the Santa Ifigênia district, is startled by the sight of the Júlia Cristianini Building. The façade is in an advanced state of deterioration, offering risks of fire and collapse, which leads many pedestrians to think that it is an abandoned building. But the impression is misleading: more than a thousand people live there, facing structural risks and even heinous crimes.
This scenario has earned the condominium the nickname “Sarajevo”, alluding to the Bosnian capital that was left in ruins after the wars of the last century. Learn about its history.
An (almost) abandoned building
The building was constructed in the 1940s on the site of the former Cine Astoria, with the promise of revolutionizing São Paulo’s residential architecture. The work, however, was never fully completed.
Júlia Cristianini, who owned the plot and financed the project, claimed that the lack of cement on the market was holding up the completion of the work – something that didn’t affect other builders, since São Paulo was experiencing a real estate boom at the time. For this reason, newspapers even speculated that the work was actually halted due to a lack of funds.
The first residents arrived in 1946 and had to deal with a number of difficulties arising from an unfinished building. Over time, poor management of the funds and a lack of renovations made the situation even worse, to the point where parts of the façade often detached and fell onto the sidewalk. For this reason, a wooden guardrail was installed between the sidewalk and the second floor to ensure pedestrian safety.
Insecurity in the Júlia Cristianini Building
The building currently poses risks to residents and neighbors. In addition to the possibility of the structure collapsing, which has earned it the reputation of “treme-treme“, the building also faces serious internal problems.
Robberies, drug trafficking, torture and even murders have taken place there, so that apartment doors are barred and residents claim to carry bladed weapons (such as knives or penknives) when walking through the corridors.
Debates about renovations have been going on for decades. There are plans for revitalization and security improvements, but many apartments are in default and there are not enough funds to get the ideas off the ground. Despite so many difficulties, more than a thousand people live in the 243 apartments at Júlia Cristianini, including owners and tenants.